The number one contender for the Lightweight belt, undefeated Gray Maynard just posted on his Facebook mobile upload an image of him meeting arguably the greatest Lightweight in boxing history Roberto "Fists of Stone" Duran.

Anyone who considers MMA the sole source of great fights would do well to view the highlight video below.

I saw both fights live on TV. In the first fight Ray played into Duran's style..let himself be goaded into a toe to toe brawl. He got his ass handed to him royally. I gained respect for Ray after that fight in the sense that it showed he was a tough guy and not just a flashy showman. He ate some BOMBS in that scrap and came back for more. In the second fight, Ray played into his own strengths--speed, movement etc...sticking and moving, throwing with power when he could...landing many more shots and hardly getting tagged himself. He made Duran look slow and clumsy. He TOTALLY dominated Duran. If I remember right it was the 8th round when Duran cried "no mas" . Afterwards he claimed it was a stomach ailment. The consensus among observers--fans and media alike, was that he knew he was losing and losing badly and was unable to get Ray to play into his ( Duran's) ploy of going toe to toe like in the first fight. He became frustrated and tired of being outclassed by a better all around athlete. He quit. The irony , to me, was that in taking the beating he did in losing their first match, Ray came out with a bigger and better legacy than Roberto, who gave up not because he was getting beat down or badly hurt. Roberto was undoubtedly a much "tougher " guy than Leonard, but he gave up because he grew tired of getting made to look like an outclassed fool. Ray really made him look second rate in their 2nd fight. Roberto was totally, hopelessly outclassed and his ego just couldnt deal with it. Both guys were awesome boxers. That was a golden era for welter/super welter/middle weights...Duran, Leonard, Hagler ,Hearns...Wow!

I got the chance to meet Duran couple years ago at the NEC in Birmingham Uk. An absolute character after we had a good chat about boxing moments and how much my dad loved him he signed a fresh pair of white/black and gold Cleto Reyes gloves,i watched him scrible something on one of the gloves id only noticed when i got out of the place he had put on the right glove ROBERTO DURAN ''MANOS DE PIEDRA'' ;) made my day !!! Absolute Beast !!

Leonard’s loss to Duran has been cleverly spun, re-packaged, and sold at a reduced price.

We’ve been spoon-fed a fable that has long since crystallized into orthodox boxing lore. It is the archetypal image of the Latin bully who “tricked” the All-American Hero into an alley fight, and it sprang from the idea that Leonard “did not fight his fight” because Duran challenged his masculinity. The problem is that it is at complete odds with statements made by Leonard and Dundee about Leonard’s clear physical advantages and the strategy that would be formed around those advantages.Dundee substantiated this in his autobiography.

Leonard’s strategy became certain from the moment that he watched the films and deconstructed Duran’s style. Duran, he said, was a “heel-to-toe guy. He takes two steps to get to you. So the idea was not to give him those two steps, not to move too far away because the more distance you gave him, the more effective he was. What you can’t do in the face of Duran’s aggression was run from it, because then he picks up momentum. My guy wasn’t going to run from him.

Duran was great , one of the greatest ...love him , always will....here comes the but lol ....the no mas thing ?? no excuse for it , never will be forgotten ....doesnt matter if it came from getting schooled or being clowned , you just dont do that ....I remember watching it he said no mas then said ok come on lets contine lol ......Sugar I didnt really like or dislike , but he didnt quit when Duran was beating the shit out of him the first fight..... Haglar I hated with a passion , he lost he lost he lost Sugar beat him , schooled him , ive watched it at least three different times and Leonard won more then a third of the rounds , and that stupid ass dance Hagler was doing after the fight lol ....why you dancing fool knock Ray out like you said you was lol .....then wat did he do stopped fighting , one loss (he actually had 3 losses) and never fought again lol....and I dont give a shit about him crying for a rematch with Leonard , dont talk shit you was standing in there with him shouldve did it not talk about doing it afterwards.......worst quit Ive ever seen in boxing IMO was Acelino Freitas vs the late Diego "Chico" Corrales , man surprised they even let him back in brazil

Reply Post

“This is the official website of the Mixed Martial Arts llc. Commercial
reproduction, distribution or transmission of any part or parts of this website
or any information contained therein by any means whatsoever without the prior
written permission is not permitted.”